Nov. 29, 2015
Dear Sister Kristina,
So how was your Thanksgiving in the mission field? Did you have more than one dinner? Seems like that’s what happened with the boys on their missions. I hope it was an enjoyable day for you. We thought about you often as our numbers were kind of small this year. Next year we should have lots of family!! Please remember Leon in your prayers Monday. That’s when he’s having his brain surgery and it’s 15 hours long. If things go well, he will feel so much better and have such a better quality of life. I’ll keep you posted on that.
We took off for Utah on Tuesday and stopped at Kirk’s. Sarah and Addie had already gone to Canada. Leah and Nikki wanted to spend the night with Kirk, so we dropped their things off and then we headed towards Sandy to have dinner with Alex and Savannah and Grandma and Grandpa and Charmaine. Then Kirk and the girls went to a Samoan poetry reading night at Aunt Kathy’s school. She had contacted Leah earlier and asked her to come. The girls really liked it and said how loud all the Samoans were. haha hmmm imagine that. Dad and I drove on to Steve and Carolina’s.
I’m sending a picture of the view from our suite. Their fixed up home is so beautiful and our room felt so luxurious. We basically had the whole basement to ourselves, so Alex and Savannah decided to pack their bags and stay in one of the rooms downstairs too. Then the next night, Kirk and the girls came back and Kirk stayed in another room. There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms downstairs with a kitchen too. So we used the kitchen to prepare some of the food for Thanksgiving. Savannah made the strawberry pretzel salad which I am still craving. Dad made the mashed potatoes. I made three French Chocolate Pies. Charmaine made the sweet potato casserole, Kassie made a green bean casserole, G &G brought rolls and relishes, Carolina made the turkey and the stuffing, Laura made a bunch of cream pies.
The night before Thanksgiving since we weren’t having a pie night, we decided to go to the BYU basketball game which was a lot of fun, then we went bowling at Fat Cats. That’s where we saw Paul Monson. I saw him behind the counter and he recognized me so I went up to talk with him. He told me he had juts barely put his mission papers in and was very excited about it. I told him where you were and we chatted for a bit, then we started getting our shoes, etc. When I went to pay he said he wanted to give us the Paul Monson special. I asked, What’s that? He said, It’s free ninety-nine. I said, no you can’t do that and he insisted. Then while we were bowling he kept coming over to us because if the head pin is orange, you’re supposed to grab a manager and bowl in front of them and if you get a strike, you get a prize. Well, we kept getting orange head pins and he wanted to come every time. He’d stand around and talk to all of us and even if we didn’t get a strike he said we earned a free drink and would bring us whatever drink we wanted. It was so funny and he really made it a lot of fun for all of us. Chloe, Nash and Keith came too. He and Alex kept talking and then he even asked Alex for his number so they could practice bowling together. Then dad started getting a bunch of strikes and Paul came over cuz he said he wanted to witness a perfect 300 game. After 4 strikes in a row, dad finally didn’t get one but his final score was 189. So Paul made an announcement over the intercom about his friend Harold and what a high score he had and if there was anyone who could beat that score, etc etc. Then as we were leaving he took dad’s picture so he could put it up on the bowling wall of fame. haha We were all laughing so hard. But you know Alex, he’s determined more than ever now to beat dad’s score, so I’m sure he’s going to be calling Paul to practice his bowling. We’ll let you know how that goes.
So in the end, we actually got a turkey that night which was our goal! It may also be our new tradition.
At Thanksgiving, we had our family and only Kassie and Marc came from Steve and Carolina’s this year. But Dakota and Downing really wanted to play greed so we had to have the greed game before dinner so they could be part of things. The big news from the game this year was that Steve gave $200 in one of his envelopes. Dakota got the envelope and Kassie was not happy about it. So now Steve says he’s never doing that again. haha
After dinner we went to the movies and then everyone in the basement played xbox til the wee hours. Alex and Savannah and Chloe and Nikki all went shopping for black Friday around midnight. Kirk had to get home since he was working long hours on Black Friday at Verizon. He’s trying to put in as much overtime as he can while Sarah is gone.
On Friday we went up to Mary and Brian’s to see their little George. He is sooooo cute and sooooo little. He actually weighs 5 pounds now but it felt like you were only holding a blanket. We all loved holding him!
Then we went to Trolley Square in Salt Lake and then on to Patrice and Jason’s where Toni was and also McKenna and Trevor. We hung out at their house for a little bit then we all decided to go to Temple Square. Toni said she hadn’t been there to see the lights since her kids were little, so I was so glad that they all wanted to go. Patrice’s little boy, Henry, seemed so big compared to George, but he’s is such a cutey and so cuddly. It was very crowded at temple square and so cold, but we made it and it was just fun being with Toni and her kids.
That night the girls spent the night with Alex and Savannah and he made them watch really cheaply made sci-fy shows. haha Dad and I stayed up til one talking with Steve and Carolina (well, I stayed up, but dad slept next to me). We had such a fun conversation about everything. We were laughing so much.
On Saturday we woke up to snow so we got a later start going home. We met Alex and Savannah and the girls at Broadbent’s in Lehi to do some shopping. Then Cole met us there, then Allen and Lisa met us there. It was such a strange meeting spot, but it all worked out beautifully. Then we went to lunch where G&G and Charmaine met us also and we took off from there to go home.
It was really a nice week even though I was so not looking forward to it because Addie would not be there. But in the end, I was able to cuddle with some other little babies so I think that helped. :)
Church today was nice as usual. I thought they were going to release Kris as my secretary because Denise Frame has accepted the call to be the new secretary, but nothing happened. So Kris is pulling double duty for another week.
So I’m very excited to hear about your first week training. I know you’ll give us the details but I’ve been thinking of you and I know you’ll be such a great trainer. If I had another daughter just going into the field, I would hope and pray that you’d be the one to train her!!!
We’re back to the grind this next week. Girls back in school, dad working a lot, me running errands and catching up with everything. I have a full week ahead of me. I hope you are doing well, teaching a lot, sharing your testimony often and finding new people to love. Those are the things that will bring true joy…just living the gospel. If only everyone would be open to hearing about that great secret.
Love you so much,
Mom xxoo
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